Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh questioned the suspension of the officials. On Twitter, the Congress leader, who recently faced a controversy over her relationship with a TV anchor, questioned if any one would stand up for the officials. He also took a dig at the new HRD Minister, saying she should reveal her real educational qualification.

This comes after Navbharat Times published what it said was the first-year SOL examination admit card of Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani.

Irani, who had taken admission in the BA (Political Science) course last year, did not take the first-year examination conducted this month.

Confirming the action against the officials, Malay Neerav, Delhi University media coordinator, told The Indian Express: “It has been confirmed by SOL authorities that five non-teaching staff of the School of Open Learning (SOL) have been suspended for accessing the system in an inappropriate manner and leaking confidential files without required permission from the SOL authorities.”

“All who have been suspended are from section officer rank or below. The officials themselves admitted that they had leaked the documents when they were questioned by the authorities,” Neerav said. It is learnt that among the five, one is a section officer and the rest report to him. The authorities declined to name the officials and said a probe had been ordered.